Two newly delivered state-of-the-art neonatal ambulances will
cut emergency response time by 50 percent or more for infants
in need of specialized neonatal transport and hospitalization.
Located at and operated by the Health Center's John Dempsey
Hospital, the transport services are available around-the-clock
to hospitals and physicians in Connecticut for acutely or chronically
ill infants in need of specialized care.

Until recently the Health Center had been using a commercial
service but, says Donna Buchanan, manager of neonatal advance
practice and transport services at the Health Center, time was
lost because the vehicles were not on site. Fully staffed vehicles
that meet all essential inpatient neonatal intensive care requirements
can now be dispatched within approximately 15 minutes.

Each vehicle can accommodate two infants and three support staff.
Support staff include a team leader - a physician, nurse practitioner
or physician's assistant - a transport nurse and a respiratory
therapist. The vehicles are equipped with controlled lighting,
custom-designed incubator setups and backup generators. Mechanical
ventilation, IV therapy, full cardio-pulmonary monitoring, and
blood gasses can be provided in the vehicle.

"Basically, we can provide all essential care during transport
that would be available in an inpatient intensive neonatal unit,"
says Ted Rosenkrantz, director of the neonatal intensive care
unit and newborn services, and medical director of transport
services.

"These transports allow us to improve services. We now have
our own vehicles, managed by our staff and ready to leave immediately,"
says Buchanan. "We are the only hospital in Connecticut with
customized vehicles, held on site, and staffed by neonatal intensive
care personnel."

The transport vehicles were manufactured by Road Rescue, Minneapolis,
a company specializing in customized vehicles. Firefighter and
paramedic Fran Brunet played a key role in the development of
vehicle specifications. Brunet, Buchanan and senior paramedic
and fire Captain Carmine Centrella, who is the neonatal vehicle
operations manager, worked on the design of the vehicle.

The Health Center is the neonatal referral center for the northern
Connecticut region. The decision to transport an infant is made
by the infant's pediatrician and the consulting neonatologist
at John Dempsey Hospital.